Westminster General Advice :)

[Al clark]

Hi there,



I’m new to the forum but not that new to boating, although would class myself as an amateur.



I’ve got an 18 foot Bayliner with 120hp outboard and want to get myself from Brentford to Greenwich and back. I normally pootle down to Hampton and back, from my mooring in Brentford, but have a new boat and want to take her into town to see the sites. I haven’t done it before and I’m very safety conscious etc. I previously had a Draco lake boat and it wasn’t suitable etc



I was wondering if there was a safest time to do it tide wise, and/or any general advice. I’m planning to go out a few hours after low tide and get back around high tide.



The boat is rated for 6 and will have 5 people plus extra fuel so it would potentially be fully loaded etc



I have Life jackets, VHF and various other safety measures (ie throwing ropes etc), I’ve got my level 2, and insurance etc.



I know that it’s a rough part of the Thames between Westminster bridge and tower bridge, but looking at any other advice if possible?



Thanks in advance!

 

[CJL]

Watch this video from the PLA -

 

[oldgit]

Get over to the Thames forum for some real world advice.
Picking a time would be a priority.
Personally would be planning from the point of view of the least amount of traffic likely to be moving around , perhaps with neap tides for minimum flows.
Very early Sunday morning might be quietest ,before the melee of trip boats get under way, you will be limited speed wise for most of the journey , it might take longer than you planned. It will be almost be difficult/impossible to refuel en route.
It may not get any better below Tower Bridge as boats can create more wash due to increased speeds and that wash being reflected back into the river.

I would NOT be taking anybody unable to look after themselves if things went seriously wrong or likely to panic in uncomfortable conditions.

 

[Chris_d]

Get over to the Thames forum for some real world advice.
Picking a time would be a priority.
Personally would be planning from the point of view of the least amount of traffic likely to be moving around , perhaps with neap tides for minimum flows.
Very early Sunday morning might be quietest ,before the melee of trip boats get under way, you will be limited speed wise for most of the journey , it might take longer than you planned. It will be almost be difficult/impossible to refuel en route.
It may not get any better below Tower Bridge as boats can create more wash due to increased speeds and that wash being reflected back into the river.

I would NOT be taking anybody unable to look after themselves if things went seriously wrong or likely to panic in uncomfortable conditions.

Would second all that especially the last statement, don't want to put you off but if something goes wrong you can be in serious trouble fast. Passing through Blackfriers Bridge a few years ago I picked up a rope which stopped both engines dead, we were heading for the bridge piers at a rate of knots, my then crew was terrified and froze and would not have been able to deploy the anchor, fortunately I got one engine to restart and give drive to limp upstream.
Same happened last year to a local Boat Club member, both engines stopped by a rope and in this case the splined shafts in the outdrives sheared and he lost all drive, luckily he was in company with other boats and they were able to get control of the boat and tow him to safety.

It is a great trip to do and I've done it many times trouble free but it can be a bit stressful at times

 

[Wjj]

In addition to the links above, this document has a useful section at the end with silhouettes of the bridges in order (both upstream and downstream). If you've got someone suitable with you then it can be useful one of you to work out where you're supposed to be going and the other steer, that's how we did it last weekend and it worked well

https://pla.co.uk/sites/default/fil...-bridges-on-the-tidal-thames-2012-edition.pdf